"ASA" and update

We always knew we would use the name Asa, whether it was for the first or middle name. I love it. It is very different and not too many people have heard of it, but I love it because of the many great men in our family that he was named after.
During the Holiday's (which I never posted pictures from), we were able to see Joseph's Grandfather (Asa Ray). We don't know how far the name "Asa" goes back in his family, but at least about 5 generations. Here is a picture of 4 generations of "Asa's".

Asa James Ray, Joseph Asa Ray (my hubby), Terry Asa Ray (his dad), and Asa Melvin Ray (his grandfather. How cool is that?!!

Both Asa Ray's

We also got to look through some of Joseph's baby pictures. He is 6 months in this picture. At times, it's crazy how much they look alike!! The big head gives it away!!! :)

Asa is already 3 1/2 months old! He is starting to be so alert and smiling a lot!!
He has BIG blue eyes and BIG chunky cheeks! AND....you see that hair coming in on top?!?!? I promise it's there!!!! :) All my good pictures are on my phone, so here are some of the ones I have taken with my good camera:

Flirting!

Looking like his daddy!
And sometimes like his mommy... very few times!

A few fun things about Asa:

- He is about 10 1/2 pounds.
- He will be 4 months in just 2 weeks! Crazy!
- He takes 3 naps a day (2 big, one small)
- He goes to bed around 8:30 and sleeps until about 7:30
- He is in size 1 diapers, and fitting nicely in his 0-3 month clothes, and maybe a few newborn things still.
-He is smiling a lot and noticing his toys. He gets frustrated that his hand wont grab onto any of them.
-He loves to be cuddled and held. He is perfectly content just laying on your chest for the whole day. (I take all I can get, because I know it won't last forever).
-He still has acid reflux and HATES to be in any other position other than upright.
-He is still on iron supplements for his anemia. (he will get checked at his 4 month appt.)
-He is starting therapy 2x a week in order to catch him up to his age. He is 3 months, but his "adjusted age" is only 2 months (almost), which is the age of which his development level is on.
-He has no other health issues for being pre-mature which is such a BLESSING!

I can't wait to see his little personality develop more and more. He is getting out of that "newborn" stage and moving to a little baby boy! Does that make sense? He is our little miracle baby and I'm so proud to be his momma!!!

Asa's Nursery

Nurseries can be very overwhelming. So many options..... It was so fun, yet very stressful trying to figure out colors and fabric choices. Everyone seems to be doing "neutral" nurseries, which is great for future babies down the road. I loved all the neutral bedding I saw, but knew that it wasn't me. So, we went ALL BOY! Next time, if I have a girl, I'll have to start all over! Oh well!

I chose dark teal, lime green, white, and chocolate brown. The "sheep" mobile came from Joseph's grandfather (Asa). It was a very special gift! My sister in law made the "aRj" letters.

My changing table/dresser was found and painted by Emily Richardson. She did a great job!

My sister painted this for his room. She got the "tree branch" idea from the front of his baby book. The bottom says, "His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me." LOVE IT!!!!!!

I love the colors and I am pleased with how it all came together. He seems to like it too!! :)

Another post in one week- yeah for me!!! Holiday pictures to follow...

Home Sweet Home

Although I am REALLY LATE at posting this, I am proud to tell you that........Asa is a "NICU" ALUMNI!! He came home on Sunday, Dec. 5th, and I am LOVING every moment with him. I feel like I have to catch up for the 6 weeks I was without him. We have been super busy adjusting to life with a newborn, and learning what our new "normal" is. Everything now revolves around him and his schedule. We went down to Little Rock to be with our families for Christmas and New Years, and just now getting back to normal.

First carseat ride

The three of us!

Taking a nap after arriving home!

First Bath

Asa came home at 5.1 lbs, and went up to 5.8lbs at his first check up a week later. Ten days later he was up to 6.11, and as of today, January 3rd he is 7 pounds, 11 ounces!!!
He is growing like a little weed. He is on 3oz. every four hours (yes, I am blessed!), we supplement 1/2 teaspoon of formula in with his breastmilk for extra calories, and he takes an iron supplement in his bottle 2x a day for his anemia. He has acid reflux (just went to doctor today) and spits up and is very gassy. You can hear it in the back of his throat. Yuck! Any suggestions for this, I will take! I just got a prescription today, so we will see how he does with that. Even though he is almost 10 weeks old, he still acts like he is a week old. He was due December 26th, so that is what we go off of for his "development" chart. He is holding up his head better each day. He is noticiing his hands and can focus on people. I can't wait until he looks up at me and smiles intentionally. It's the same feeling of waiting for your baby to kick for the first time. Melt your heart!

I have more pictures to come from the holiday's and NURSERY pictures!!

Thank you for your continued prayers for Asa. We are very blessed to have him!

Asa James Ray

SURPRISED??

Yes, we were too!! Asa was born two months early, on October 28th. (I can't believe it's already been three weeks!) He is doing very well and currently in the NICU, but we hope to have him home soon!

I had gone in for my routine visit and an extra ultrasound to check my placenta on Tuesday, October 26th. In my ultrasound, they found that I had very low amniotic fluid and he was measuring about 2 weeks behind. They also found a little protein in my urine, and my blood pressure was a little higher than normal for me. My doctor said that I had not been drinking enough water, and because of that, I was just probably dehydrated and just needed 48 hours of I.V. Fluid and I would be on my way. So, we went home, grabbed our bags, and checked in to the hospital for 48 hrs. During this time, my blood pressure was slowly rising, but the doctor said she was still unconcerned at this point; however, it didn't stop rising. Thursday morning they repeated my ultrasound, and the news was a little different than we expected. Although my amniotic fluid had increased, Asa was measuring now three weeks behind. My doctor came in and explained to me that on top of everything that was going on (blood pressure, him measuring behind, ect.) that the umbilical cord blood flow was also decreasing and that would, in time, just get worse and eventually be bad and decrease oxygen to the baby. So....instead of going home Thursday, I was scheduled for a c-section about 3 hours later.

What was going through my mind....???? Hmm...good question. I was SO scared, anxious, but very excited to meet him. I knew with all the events that had happened, that Asa would be just fine. We lightly discussed delivering at UAMS, and she felt like it was not necessary and he would be perfectly fine in the NICU at Willow Creek. Great!

I had trouble getting pregnant. Then, when I did get pregnant, my hcg levels were not rising and we discussed a possible miscarriage- but he fought through that. We had trouble finding a heartbeat, and had to come back two weeks later, anxiously wondering, and he fought through that. There was a concern of too small of a sac and my placenta being too low, and he fought through that. I went into preterm labor, had an ovarian cyst rupture, and an appendectomy when I was 25 weeks pregnant. They gave him steroid shots for his lungs in case he was delivered, but he fought through that. Now this... he was sooo ready to be here. He is our little fighter! He is NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE FROM GOD. (exact words from my doctor). God is SO good!

Asa- Means "Doctor, Healer". Interesting, huh??

Here are some pictures of our sweet baby boy. I will update more often, now that I am healed and not quite as busy. :) For now...

Weight: 2lbs. 14oz.

Length: 16 1/4 inches

Currently, Asa is 3lbs. 10oz. He is up to 3 bottle feedings a day, although he still has his feeding tube for the rest of the feedings. He is almost in an open crib, which means he is maintaining his temperature well and weighs enough. He is about 2 weeks out from coming home as long as there are no set backs. He has been off all oxygen/room air about a week after he was born. His head ultrasound detected ZERO bleeding. What a praise!!! Please pray for his health and growth. We want him home!!!

7 Months and 3rd Trimester!

Well, today marks 29 weeks! I have a OB appointment on Tuesday, so I will get an update on how he's doing and sign up for childbirth classes. I'm still feeling great, and Asa is doing good too! Here is a bump update for you:

Other than just pregnancy stuff, I have been very busy at work. This is a very popular wedding season! I have been busy at glo every weekend the past couple of weeks doing makeup, and then traveling to Little Rock for weddings when I'm not. Joseph was in a wedding recently for one of his best friends:

Speaking of Makeup.....I haven't done an update in a while for a new product, and I am working on doing my "favorite products for fall" soon. But I will show you a new product that I have been loving at glo for wedding season. It's Laura Mercier's new Creme' Smooth Foundation:

It is made for more normal to dry skin. It's lightweight and smoothes into skin without visibly settling into fine lines, while also working to treat them. (It's never too early to start!) It's hydrating and is between a medium to full coverage. I'm loving it!

That's it for today! I have my first baby shower this coming weekend, and looking forward to filling up his room!! Can't wait!!!

6 Months!

I can't believe I'm two weeks away from my 3rd trimester. WOW! He will be here before I know it. I got enough energy today to go and register at one place. My first shower is about 3 weeks away. I definitely need to get prepared.

Baby Update:

I'm 26 weeks. Feeling much better today after last weekend. He should be about 2 lbs. or a little less, and 14 inches long. He is moving around A LOT, and knows right where my bladder lives. I had gained 7lbs. at my 24 weeks appt, so I'm assuming I'm starting to get closer to 9 lbs. It doesn't seem like very much, but he is measuring perfect, and that is all that matters! Unfortunately, I lost a pound, maybe two, last week from everything that happened. But, I'm back to normal and it seems like I've packed it back on pretty quickly and maybe more! Asa does NOT like to go without food and neither do I!! I still LOVE LOVE pizza and fruit (not together, of course). But, my random craving this week has been summer sausage, cheese, and crackers. Don't ask. I don't know why. That's all the baby updates I can think of. I love being pregnant, feeling him move, and see my stomach move all around on the outside. God is so good!

This was at 24 weeks (6 months)

This is at 26 weeks.

Isn't it lovely?

Here is my new addition. It's looking pretty good after having 10 staples removed 4 days ago.
This picture makes it look like a small scratch. I will spare you the uglier photos. :) We will see how it grows along with my belly!

Thank you again for your prayers for us! We appreciate it so much!

A very scary weekend....

Last weekend and this past week have been CRAZY! Last Friday, actually 1:00 am Saturday morning, I started to have some painful contractions.

I had started having Braxton hicks contractions very early in my pregnancy, and my doctor just suggested that I remember to take it easy and to drink plenty of water. Last Friday, I came home and told Joseph that I must have been doing too much that day because my "contractions" had picked up. They don't hurt by any means, but I know that you shouldn't have more than 6 in an hour or to call the doctor if they become painful.

Anyway, in the middle of the night, I started having "real" contractions-the kind that I knew were not normal at 25 weeks. Then, within 20 minutes, I had excruciating pain on my lower right side, my back, and down my right leg. It wasn't 15 minutes later, that we got in the car and headed to the ER. After I checked in, gave a urine sample, and started vomiting from the pain, we were pretty certain that it was my appendix. Unfortunately, I could not get any pain meds until we monitored the baby and my contractions first. So, after a few HOURS went by, I got some pain meds and they went to do an ultrasound on me to check the baby, and my kidneys.

They could not check my appendix, because they would have to do a CT scan, which is a no no during pregnancy. They said that I was showing all the signs of appendicitis, except for the fact that my white blood count came back normal. (If I had appendicitis, the levels would have been high). However, I had just finished an antibiotic for a sinus infection I had that week, so they assumed that was the causing the white blood count to be normal.

The obgyn and general surgeon came in and told us they had gotten results back from the ultrasound, and that I had a cyst rupture on my ovary, and I had a few more remaining. My right kidney was also enlarged, and the combination of these things were putting me into pre-term labor.

They came to a decision to proceed with an appendectomy to remove my appendix, regardless of how it was, and to check my ovary and remove the other cysts. My regular ob doctor, from a different hospital, happened to be on call there that weekend. Joseph texted her and told her what was going on, and she came over and stepped in on the surgery. How awesome is she!?!? I'm SO grateful for her!

This was all around Saturday morning at 9ish. My parents, in laws, best friend Laura, and my sister all came in town to be with us.

The real problems had only begun.....the doctors came in and started talking about the possibility of having to deliver Asa in case they couldn't get my contractions to stop, or things went differently during surgery. I just remember crying....and that's all I could do at that point with the amount of pain meeds I had in me. Joseph was extremely worried, so much so, that he had made himself sick. :(. Bless his heart! I knew that if he came, he could survive, but he would be flown down to UAMS in little rock, and kept for a long time. "Scary" was an understatement.

By noon, they removed my appendix, which i was told was the longest that he had seen in 30 years! Wow! And...that it was perfectly normal. The ovary was not, but was cleaned and all cysts were removed. They started me on magnesium for the pre-term labor, and monitored me until Monday. Oh, did I mention the catheter?? Ouch!! I never want to experience that again!!

I stayed that night, Sunday, and then was able to go home on Monday. I had constant care from my incredible husband, mom, and mother in law.

So, Asa decided to stay in there and my contractions stopped. I have a new lovely incision across the right side of my ever stretching belly, and I'm interested to see how it grows along with my belly. Gross! Asa is more active than ever. He got some steroids to help his lungs in case he were to be delivered early, so he is now ahead of the game! However, he does like to ball up and give me a good kick underneath my incision-it doesn't feel good, but I'm thankful for his life-so he can do whatever he wants to! :). Joseph has been more than amazing! He is extremely protective of me and Asa, and has been there non stop for anything that I need. I am so grateful for my friends who have brought meals, visited, or texted to see how we are doing. Glo is being taken care of, and I feel very blessed by all of that!

That's my crazy story! I have bump and incision pictures to follow!

Please pray for me and Asa, and that he would stay in there until he is healthy and big enough to come out. Please pray for my health and recovery. I am having a hard time with being down, and want to be normal again so badly. I know that if i don't take it slow, it could put me down for the rest of the time-so pray for patience for me and allowing myself not to get too busy.

Thank you!